10 Movie Masterpieces that Don't Need Flashbacks to Show ...

10 Movie Masterpieces That Didn't Need Flashbacks to Show Powerful Backstory

Adam Sandler with sunglasses on looks amused in Uncut Gems.Image via A24

By J.S. Gornael Published 30 minutes ago J.S. Gornael has a BA in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis in Poetry and an MFA in Fiction. He has taken workshops in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction (though mostly the second). Half-cinephile, half-bookworm, he is both a TV/Movie List Writer for Collider and a book review editor for IndieReader. He occasionally writes reviews himself, and looks forward to finally getting several novels out of his head and onto paper (published or not). His favorite movie is Apocalypse Now, and, for those who care, his favorite version of it is 2019's Apocalypse Now: Final Cut. Though he gave up trying to watch every episode of The Simpsons when he reached season 10, he still loves writing about it. Other shows he would like to write about more range from House to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Backstory is a fundamental aspect of character development and storytelling in general. Sometimes you need flashbacks to convey backstory, and that can be totally okay—even integral to a particular story's structure. Movies like Memento and Citizen Kane, for instance, are told largely through flashbacks that give their narratives a focused, philosophical, propulsive energy. But making that call isn't always easy. Without naming names, there are countless films that lazily toss in scenes set in the past when good dialogue, sound design, imagery, and acting in the present action would have been enough. On the other side of the problem, there are movies that avoid flashbacks by filling in backstory with overly expository dialogue. Of course, just because you made the right structural decision doesn't mean you did it well. Shoehorning information that characters already should know into a conversation can lead to the sense that this or that line is strictly for the audience—not any character—and the audience's suspension of disbelief will suffer for it.

Which makes it a real accomplishment when a movie displays backstory in the present action without it feeling forced. It's a great sub-catergory of storytelling that lesser writers don't pay much attention to, but the following films are especially proficient in this area. Certain movies may rely on backstory for plot, some might do so for more sophisticated character development, and some use backstory to perform both functions and more. Meanwhile, some movies need to provide the audience with more information than others. The following list comprises films that know exactly how much to tell (or show) and when. Without going to the trouble of ranking movies that are so highly acclaimed, here are 10 beautifully crafted works that show how one can approach this dilemma in a variety of genres, moods, and forms.

10 'It Was Just an Accident' (2025)

It Was Just an Accident cast in a vanImage via Neon

Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, It Was Just An Accident follows a group of Iranians as they drive around town with an incapacitated person (Ebrahim Azizi) in the back of their van. All but one of them were political prisoners years ago, and they suspect this man is one of the guards who tortured them. The biggest piece of evidence is his prosthetic leg, which gave him the nickname "Peg-Leg."

None of these people saw what Peg-Leg actually looks like, as they were blindfolded during their imprisonments, but they found ways to identify him using their other senses. But it's still difficult to be sure, which means these characters have to explain to each other what they remember to show why they're sure or not sure of whether they've caught the right man. Backstory through dialogue not only comes naturally to this narrative; it's fundamental to it. Flashbacks would only feel redundant here, and keeping everyone's tragic backstories to intense conversations keeps us totally immersed in the extremely tense, emotionally complicated present.

9 'Taxi Driver' (1976)

Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in his cab in Taxi Driver

Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi DriverImage via Columbia Pictures

Another Palme d'Or winner, Taxi Driver gets us acquainted with its protagonist's simple life at the beginning. When applying for a job as a cab driver, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro at his best) states that he was in the Marines during an interview. He also says that he doesn't sleep at night, which makes him perfect for taking night shifts. This helps the audience get a feel for this lost soul without spelling out a specific source of his inner demons. Sometimes a few sentences about a man's past is really all you need.

Furthermore, Taxi Driver uses voice-over better than most movies ever have or ever will, which helps us dig very deep into Travis' mental state. When he describes taking 12-hour shifts, sometimes 14-hour shifts, and being content with staying busy, there is an eeriness about the delivery of these lines and the shots of his apartment that makes Bickle an unforgettable antihero.

8 'Rocky' (1976)

Actor Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Rocky, looking exhausted but defiant in front of an American flag.Image via United Artists

Rocky is a great redemption story for both the aging boxer Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) and his trainer Mick (Burgess Meredith). We don't see Rocky when he was younger; we just see him scrapping in a low-level boxing match, working with a local mobster to make ends meet, and having a tense relationship with Mick. Meanwhile, all we see from Mick is a picture of him in his boxing days.

When these two interact, it's perfectly and explicitly spelled out that Rocky feels like he missed his prime and never got the help he needed from the old man when he was younger. Meredith and Stallone do a superb job of showing how damaged their relationship is early in the film, like when Mick yells at him in front of everyone in the gym. Furthermore, the argument they have in Rocky's place (right before Rocky decides to work with Mick) is part of what makes this first story in the franchise so moving.

7 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)

Hannibal Lecter is shown in reflection of his glass cell as Clarice Starling looks on in Silence of the LambsImage via Orion Pictures

Most movies have a difficult time having their characters talk about their pasts without the scene feeling contrived somehow, and movies like Rocky tend to get over that obstacle by having characters argue or explain something about themselves to another person briefly through normal conversations. The Silence of the Lambs, on the other hand, takes a different route.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) has trainee Agent Starling (Jodie Foster) submit to a quid pro quo line of questioning. He'll help her with the Buffalo Bill case if she answers questions about herself, her past. This is not normal, but it totally works for his character. With Starling's backstory built in as part of the plot, our look into the agent's troubled childhood feels absolutely seamless—and Lecter's psychoanalysis of her character is a terrific way to emphasize several of the story's themes. Sigmund Freud would love it.

6 'Birdman: Or, The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance' (2014)

Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson, walking down the street as Birdman follows behind him in Birdman.Image via Searchlight Pictures

Birdman: Or, The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance sets out to feel like a constant single shot, which means that there are no flashbacks or cuts to other settings allowed. We're just following Riggan (Michael Keaton) around New York City, and the anticipation of his impending Broadway show adeptly draws out his anxieties and insecurities about his career. Riggan's fear that he's a has-been is a compelling reason to tell us how he went from Hollywood to Broadway.

The movie even has a man in a bird costume flying right next to the protagonist several times throughout the movie. It's Riggan's old Birdman character, whose voice is muscly, confident—representing a perfect contrast to Riggan now. It's a weird touch, for sure, but it's a smart and amusing way to show the audience how the actor's former glory as a superhero (a parallel to Keaton's role as Batman in Tim Burton's well-received adaptations of the Caped Crusader) affects him in the current moment.

5 'Uncut Gems' (2019)

Howard Ratner sits in a car and watches a basketball game on his phone.Image via A24

Like Birdman and It Was Just an Accident, the Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems is very much in the moment and takes place over a very short period of time. It's such a stressful movie that a flashback would not only be unnecessary; it would get in the way of the narrative's relentless pace. We don't need to see anything in Howard's past, as Adam Sandler's excellent performance and his character's recklessly irresponsible choices tell us all that we need to know.

And there isn't much to know, really: Howard owes people lots of money; he has a family member who works with people he owes money to, he's having an affair, and he's never going to stop. All this is made crystal clear very quickly through rapid, loud, often angry conversations—both in person and over the phone. The audience doesn't need to see what led this man to become such a gambling addict; all we need to see is where his behavior has led him.

4 'Unforgiven' (1992)

Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman) stands in the streets of town in 'Unforgiven'.Image via Warner Bros.

One of Clint Eastwood's best movies, Unforgiven is about an old gunslinger and his partner (Morgan Freeman) joining up for one last bounty. William Munny (Eastwood) is desperate for cash, now that he's long retired, and his return to the game makes him face his ugly past. The silent treatment that his partner's wife gives him is a harrowing clue as to just how brutal he used to be.

The present can say a lot about the past: what folks have heard, what folks remember seeing, the fear in their eyes when they hear that a certain man is in town, the hatred in the sheriff's eyes (Gene Hackman) when he confronts more than one infamous shooter. This movie embraces the description of legends through word of mouth, and how the giant figures of these tales behave as old men makes us completely believe the dark rumors everyone's heard about.

3 'The Godfather' (1972)

Marlon Brando with his arm around Salvatore Corsitto's shoulder in The Godfather (1972)Image via Paramount Pictures

Possibly the greatest mobster movie of all time has no use for petty flashbacks. The Godfather describes its large cast of characters using every other storytelling tool in its arsenal. Consider Michael (Al Pacino), who arrives to his sister's wedding in his military suit. This alone makes him visibly stand out from the crowd, and the story he tells about Luca Brasi in broad daylight is chilling. Pacino's acting conveys Michael's attitude about his family business, so we don't need any flashbacks to know his stance.

Everyone else's backstory is wonderfully filled in through their roles in the family business and how they speak to each other. Tom (Robert Duvall) getting taken in by the family when he was a kid is explained swiftly and naturally through conversation, and Sonny's extramarital affair is established early on. Of course Vito (Marlon Brando) is introduced perfectly. From the incredible opening scene, we understand his role as the Corleone patriarch, why people put their trust in him (as opposed to the government), and his insistence on having social relationships with those he works with. Such economical storytelling would only be cheapened by flashbacks.

2 'Being There' (1979)

Image via United Artists

An essential movie of 1979, Being There tells us so much in its first act. Through impressively concise storytelling, we see that Chance (Peter Sellers) watches TV all the time, works as a gardener, and has apparently been living in the same house as his employer for decades. Even more strange, he doesn't even have much of a reaction to said employer's death. From the carefully written dialogue and Sellers' fantastic performance, we intuit that Chance has a mental disability.

When the house is sold, it seems that he has no family and no home to return to. This sets up a premise that sounds outlandish—that practically all this aging man has ever seen of the outside world came from TV—and yet we believe it. This isn't a typical comedy but a satirical dramedy, and it had to explain all of this in a way that adults could get on board with. This means that over-explaining (including flashbacks) would likely feel cumbersome, so a lot of Chance's past remains a mystery. All the better, as he's more of a symbolic character anyway.

1 'Apocalypse Now' (1979)

Image via United Artists

Apocalypse Now's Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) and Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) are both enigmas, and each of their backstories is absolutely fascinating. The surreal opening moments of a forest getting bombed to the tune of The Doors' legendary epic "The End" perfectly sums up Willard's fractured psyche. Along with the helicopter sounds, Willard's voice-over, the emotional breakdown in his room, and the other soldiers' need to carry him into the shower for a mission all communicate what Vietnam has done to him. There's also that covert assassination mission, mentioned during his interview with a superior, which shows that he's not just an innocent casualty of war.

As for Kurtz, the film displays a mastery of anticipation. We're told he went rogue, that's already interesting enough. But that recording of him (technically not a flashback) has one of the movie's most mesmerizing, horrifying quotes: a description of a dream. It captures Kurtz's insanity while making us anxious to learn more. Willard also reads documents that outline Kurtz's backstory, which covers the ground that any flashback would address. In a movie as creative as this, the past and the present almost feel the same.

Like Follow Followed Apocalypse Now R Drama War Mystery Release Date August 15, 1979 Runtime 147 minutes Director Francis Ford Coppola Writers Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr

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Marlon Brando
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Francis Ford Coppola
Uncut Gems

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